Luke 7:6-10
Luke 7:6 (KJB)
Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the
centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I
am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof:
There are two situations present. The first one is that if Jesus would have gone
into the centurion’s home, He would have become defiled because the centurion
was a Gentile. The Centurion was sensitive to this and did not want to cause
Jesus any more problems with the Pharisees which I am sure the Centurion had
known about. For him to claim that he was not worthy means he must have been a
student of the Hebrew Scriptures and learned all about the relationship the Jews
had with the Gentiles.
Luke 7:7 (KJB)
Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word,
and my servant shall be healed.
The second one is the centurion who probably knew Jewish custom and the law and
did not want to cause any trouble for Jesus, so he showed enough faith in Jesus
that all He had to do was say the word and the servant would become well again.
This centurion was truly humble because even though the Romans thought that they
were the superior race, this man did not sport that attitude. This also teaches
us that no matter where any of God’s Elect are on this earth, when it is their
appointed time to be saved, then God will save them.
Luke 7:8 (KJB)
For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say
unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my
servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
The centurion understood the concept of authority and then goes on to explain to
Jesus that he has charge of 100 soldiers and when he commands one to be
dispatched somewhere or one to come to him for some reason, they obey. He
understood the reality that Jesus had enough power that He did not have to come
to the centurion’s home but His authority and power were absolute and all He had
to do was to say the word and what He spoke would come to pass.
Luke 7:9 (KJB)
When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and
said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so
great faith, no, not in Israel.
The centurion had borne witness to the power of the Lord knowing that distance
is not a hindrance for the Lord. By realizing this fact, he was showing
tremendous faith in the Lord and so far Jesus had met some with faith but the
majority did not have faith, but not one held the faith level of this centurion.
Jesus then states that even in Israel, no one was found who had the great faith
of this Gentile centurion. Even with all the learning the Jews had coupled with
their history, could not even yield one person thus far who could match the
faith level of the centurion. This is one of the two places in Scripture where
Jesus marvelled. The other which caused Him to marvel is found in Mark 6:6.
(Mark 6:6 KJV) And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round
about the villages, teaching. Jesus marvelled because of the unbelief of
the Jews. This is why the true Gospel was given to the Gentiles for the purpose
of taking it worldwide. (Acts 13:48 KJV) And when the Gentiles heard this,
they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained
to eternal life believed.
Luke 7:10 (KJB)
And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that
had been sick.
The elders who were dispatched by the Centurion had now returned to his home and
when they arrived, they found the servant completely healed of his sickness. The
focus of this event is the faith of the centurion. He had enough faith in Jesus
to believe that all He had to do was just speak the words and his servant would
be healed. The creation was also spoken into existence, so the word of God is
that powerful whether He is healing a person or creating a universe.